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RELIGIOUS FREEDOM UNDER FIRE

Dr. Tony Beam

Dr. Tony Beam's Weblog

2010May 03

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Congress established the very first National Day of Prayer
on July 20, 1775.The
war with England was in its infancy with the battles of Lexington and Concord
barely in the history books.The
original proclamation began:

"This Congress, therefore, considering the present critical,
alarming and calamitous state of these colonies, do earnestly recommend that
Thursday, the 20th day of July next, be observed by the inhabitants
of all the English colonies on this continent, as a day of public humiliation,
fasting and prayer; that we may, with united hearts and voices, unfeignedly
confess and deplore our many sins; and offer up our joint supplication to the
all-wise, omnipotent, and merciful Disposer of all events…."

The next proclamation when President John Adams declared May
9, 1798 as a "day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer," with people of
all faiths being encouraged to pray, "that our country may be protected from
all the dangers which threaten it."The United States was locked in an undeclared naval war with France and
fear gripped many American hearts as victory was in doubt.

On March 30, 1863, the United States was busy going about
the business of tearing itself apart over slavery and states rights.President Abraham Lincoln issued a
proclamation that stated, "the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates
the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous
sins."The proclamation declared a
day of "national humiliation, fasting and prayer," hoping that God would
restore, "our now divided and suffering country to its former happy condition
of unity and peace."

The current incarnation of the National Day of Prayer was
approved by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Harry S.
Truman on April 17, 1952.The
official proclamation called on the American people to, "turn to God in prayer
and meditation."In 1972, the National Day of Prayer Committee was
created which soon gave birth to the National
Day of Prayer Task Force.In
1988, a bill was introduced in Congress fixing the National Day of Prayer on
the first Thursday of May.The
bill passed and was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on May 5.Upon signing the bill, Reagan said, "On
our National Day of Prayer, then, we join together as people of many faiths to
petition God to show us His mercy and His love, to heal our weariness and
uphold our hope, that we might live ever mindful of His justice and thankful
for His blessing."

The National Day of Prayer has a rich history and
heritage.How said it is in our
politically correct age that we are no longer spiritually tolerant.The controversy generated by the Pentagon's
disinviting Franklin Graham and the entire National Day of Prayer Task Force is
both un-American and unnecessary.Graham has expressed his opinion on the danger of embracing the teaching
of Islam concerning jihad and the death of infidels.Not once has he or anyone on the National Day of Prayer Task
Force suggested that Muslims be excluded from First Amendment protections
against the prohibiting of the exercise of their religion.

The same First Amendment to the Constitution which prohibits
Congress from making any law that establishes a particular religion or
prohibits the free exercise thereof also protects Franklin Graham's right of
free speech to express his opinion about Islamic fundamentalism.

But in our
politically correct age, the criticism of Christianity is welcomed while the
truth claims of Christians are under constant fire.Muslim Clerics and Islamic fundamentalists can rail against
Christianity without fear of reprisal.Yet Christians are often singled out as being bigoted, homophobic,
hatemongers who are ruining our national hedonistic party.

Last month, a federal judge from Wisconsin struck down the
National Day of Prayer, ruling that it violates the constitutional ban on
government-backed religion.Judge
Barbara B. Crabb called the statue "an inherently religious exercise that serves
no secular function."Again, the
First Amendment, while forbidding Congress from establishing any one religion
forbids Congress from doing what Judge Crabb believes she has the right to do….
prohibit the free expression of religious convictions.Since the National Day of Prayer does
not elevate one religion over another it does not violate the First
Amendment.Joel Oster, senior
legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund said, "The National Day of Prayer
provides an opportunity for all Americans to pray voluntarily according to
their own faith and does not promote any particular religion or form of
religious observance."

Douglas Laycock, a University of Michigan Law School
professor said, "Judges have never been absolutists in these establishment
clause cases.If they were they
would tell the president to stop issuing Thanksgiving proclamations and tell
the Treasury Department to take In God We
Trust off of our money."

America is a country that recognizes the "freedom of" not
"freedom from" religion.While we
recognize and respect an individuals right to reject belief in God, the vast
majority fervently defends the right to publically express belief in God.People can be free from religion if
they choose but they cannot demand that those of us who believe should lay
aside our beliefs so they can be free from religion

We are a nation
of over 300 million people.Fully
ninety-two percent say they believe in God.Another eighty-five percent believe in heaven and eighty-two
percent believe in miracles.The
religion police will have to lock up over ninety-percent of the country if
their crusade against free religious expression is successful.